This invention relates generally to an apparatus for securing a workpiece and more particularly to a bar clamp that has a mating base to which the bar clamp may be mounted for performing additional workpiece securing applications.
Presently, the tool industry offers a variety of tools for securing workpieces such as vises, bar clamps, C-clamps and the like. Each of these tools offer advantages over their alternatives. For example, a vise may be mounted to a work surface, such as a benchtop, in order to provide a strong and sturdy apparatus for securing a workpiece. Unfortunately, however, traditional vises are not designed to be readily transported from one place to another so that the vise may be used in locations remote from the benchtop. This may be due in part to the weight of the vise (which is often heavy), or in the alternative due to the way in which it is mounted to the benchtop (which typically requires a base of the vise to be bolted to a work surface).
Bar clamps and C-clamps serve as alternatives to the vise in applications which are remote from a benchtop and require an apparatus for securing a workpiece. An additional advantage of bar clamps is their ability to be used as both a clamp and a spreader. Applications in which bar clamps and C-clamps are, however, limited due to their inability to be used in applications which require a stationary benchtop mounted apparatus for securing a workpiece.
Thus, a need exists for an apparatus for securing a workpiece which can be used in a variety of locations, e.g., mounted to a benchtop, remote from a benchtop, etc., for a variety of different applications, such as a vise, clamp, spreader, work station, etc., and which overcomes the aforementioned limitations and further provides capabilities, features and functions, not available in current devices.